Precipitating factors in acute heart failure: a review

Acute heart failure (AHF) has become a public health problem of the first magnitude: it is the main cause of emergencies and hospitalization in patients over the age of 65. Various guidelines for managing AHF have been drafted in recent years, yet we continue to see high readmission and mortality rates. The emergency department is where patients with AHF should be diagnosed and stabilized, and their clinical picture established. A next step would be to identify the factors that may have led to the acute event so that it can be managed optimally. Few studies have analyzed precipitating factors in AHF and their role in prognosis. This review analyzes the prevalence of precipitating factors and their relation to readmission and mortality.